The victim described the incident and said the suspect approached her asking if everything was okay. The suspect then grabbed her arm and tried to pull her into a dark colored SUV. The victim managed to break free from the suspect’s grip before pepper spraying him and getting away on her bike.

The suspect is described as being a white male, 25-30 years old, and wearing jeans.

Police have increased patrols in the area and sent out alerts to students via the VCU Alert system.

Commentary...

This demonstrates why you cannot and should not abdicate responsibility for your personal safety to 911. And yes... that includes owning and practicing with a firearm if appropriate...

Pepper spray will not stop a determined attacker. I proved this with a personal demonstration where I performed a number of tasks after being pepper-sprayed in the face. But it worked here, and so obviously it works in some cases. Good......

Remember that the data show it's usually a very, very bad idea to go to "the second crime scene." Make your stand early - if at all possible....

The most important thing here is that the woman escaped immediate harm. There *can* be psychological consequences in the aftermath (I've witnessed it), but so far so good.

That said,

wouldn't it have been nice if... This man's actions made him eligible for a "special" response from his would-be victim. If it was me, I'd have followed the pepper spray with some practice on my ball-kicking skills. He earned that response; it might have prevented him from following her in a rage. That kind of fluid, "complete the thought" improv must be practiced in the dojo. And it also must be practiced with the long-term legal consequences in mind. Step on his head when he drops? Maybe legal trouble unless there are other attackers around (a preponderance of force). Send his testicles up into his ears if he's standing? Fair game. You aren't entitled to deliver harm for harm's sake. But you are entitled to "stop the threat", and you are entitled to meet *potential* deadly force (I was in fear of my life...) with deadly force. These nuances are important if you want to preserve treasure and freedom in the aftermath of a violent encounter.

Isn't it interesting that I chose to comment on the above story? It had a "good" outcome, and yet there were parts of "the story" that my instincts told me could have or should have been approached differently. The outcome - as stated - was too good to be true.

RICHMOND -- Police have determined that a woman falsely claimed that she was the victim of an attempted abduction Sunday on the campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

After an extensive investigation, which included interviews, analysis of electronic data and a review of surveillance footage from multiple cameras in the area, VCU police have classified the incident as “unfounded,” the university said in a release.

“The investigation conclusively proved that the action or acts ... did not occur,” a spokesman said. “The information that was reported by the victim to the VCU Police Department was false.”

The woman told authorities that a male suspect grabbed her arm and tried to pull her into a dark-colored SUV about 6:20 p.m. at an entrance to an alley in the 300 block of Hancock Avenue about 6:20 p.m. She said she was able to break free, pepper spray the suspect and ride away on her bicycle. She reported no injuries.

As I stated above, pepper spray alone isn't likely to stop a determined attacker. And as it turns out, "it" never happened.

This woman needs help. Believe it or not, I've actually dealt with cases like this (students in my karate class). There's very likely a serious issue under the surface. Immediate psychological intervention is in order. And the prognosis is usually pretty good - absent the embarrassment from the odd call for help.

Van Canna wrote:Why would she make it up Bill? Strange woman for sure...maybe she was looking for attention and a date.

I know a lot about the field of mental health, having restructured the DxCG medical classification system. Mental health is one of the fastest growing branches of medicine, with new classifications and treatments popping up yearly. That said... I'm not a psychologist or a psychiatrist. So some of the nuances will escape me.

One personal anecdote in particular involves me intervening with such a person. It actually was an emergency intervention effort, and I had both the police and the UVa Student Health program involved in identifying and essentially committing such a woman. She's now over it all, in great shape, and is the mom of several kids. Life is good.

Usually in cases like this, there's childhood abuse involved. How that manifests itself (as some kind of PTSD) varies from woman to woman. A lot of adult women quietly bear the burden, and move on. (It's worth noting that many men were also the victims of statutory rape by adult men and/or women, but we rarely hear about it.) Some however "snap" under pressure. Think about it... it's just before first semester final exams. If ever the water was going to boil, well now is the time. Intervention involves dealing with the past psychological trauma, and finding ways to move on. One must separate the memory of a traumatic event from the emotional response to it.

From my personal experience (since a lot of people confide in me), I'd say that about 50 percent of adult women who get into martial arts were sexually abused as children. Martial arts is one way of dealing with it all. It's about feeling a sense of control with one's life, and a good class can provide that for a woman. Serendipitously some of them end up being great karateka.

Van Canna wrote:Follow up on pepper spray with a kick in the balls, good...but careful of 'cross contamination' with the spray.

True that. This is one reason why the military has *all* personnel who use these devices expose themselves to it before handling. One needs to get over it.

Personally I'd skip the spray and go straight for the groin kick. It involves less manual dexterity, and groin kicks disable much better.